Is It Worthwhile To Take A Free Online Foster Parent Training Course?
Everybody knows we desperately need more foster parents. The meth epidemic and other social trends have left unprecedented numbers of children in need of foster care, and there aren't enough foster parents to take care of them.
Foster parents make a difference. They are important. By becoming a foster parent, you can give a kid a safe place to live and help her heal from whatever emotional, social and physical trauma she has endured. You can show him what a healthy family looks like. You can love her unconditionally. You may be able to change a child's life by being a foster parent.
Parenting is a hard job, and foster parenting is an even harder job. It's even more thankless than parenting, too. You don't get paid to do it-you may get "reimbursed" a certain amount, but it won't cover your expenses. It won't pay for getting your heart broken when the kid leaves, especially if he returns to a less-than-ideal family situation. You don't become a foster parent for money or glory. You do it because you care about kids and want to make a difference in their lives-even if it's only a small and temporary difference.
Initial Training
Becoming a foster parent is a difficult process. There are lots of forms to fill out. References have to be checked. Social workers have to interview you. You have to submit to a home study. And you have to take a foster parenting course.
Usually, a social worker teaches foster parent classes to a group of prospective foster parents. But there's another problem. There are far too few social workers to train new foster parents and interview them and conduct home studies and place the children and manage the caseloads.
So, perhaps taking a free online foster parent training course is a good idea. It would take one thing off of the social worker's plate and make one part of the application process easier for the foster parents.
Continuing Education Online
In addition to initial foster parent training, foster parents can find lots of good continuing education online. You can take classes on how to deal with traumatized children, or sexually aggressive children, how to de-escalate situations, how to help foster kids with home visits, and a lot of other topics.
Online training helps foster parents, foster kids, social workers and society at large.
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